The United States Men's National Team's strong showing thus far in the World Cup has Americans from coast to coast "believing that we will win" Tuesday's Round of 16 game against favored Belgium.

Why so confident? Well it's Fourth of July Week and everyone who has ever pledged allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America is counting on U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann to come up with a Bill Belichick like game plan.

Soccer has made great strides in the U.S. since it hosted the World Cup in 1994. Over the past two decades, youth leagues have expanded in record numbers and the popularity of Major League Soccer (MLS) is growing. A win over Belgium would propel the U.S. into the World Cup quarterfinals for the first time since 2002.

"Beating Belgium would certainly be a nice milestone for U.S. soccer," said Lowell Catholic boys soccer coach Ken Hurtubise. "The U.S. team over the last decade has stalled out or disappointed. No one really expected this team to go far. Internationally, I believe the U.S. is ranked 13th and Belgium is (11th). It should be a tight, well-fought match.

"If the U.S. wins and advances to next round, it would say a lot about soccer's growth in this country.

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The excitement would certainly build."

It appears World Cup fever has hit America hard. Even non-soccer fans are cheering on every move made by the Red, White and Blue. Fans who don't know all the rules of the game, and aren't particularly thrilled with players diving and flopping all over the field, are glued to the action when the U.S. plays.

"I've been watching the reaction in the cities across the United States during games and it's been incredible," said Wilmington boys soccer coach Steve Scanlon. "The support for the U.S. is really great. Everybody is getting behind the team.

"Soccer has steadily come to life in this country. I think when people (in the U.S.) see it on the international stage it just shows how incredibly popular it is globally. Just to see the skill level and emotion of the players, some of them are crying after games, and the passion of the fans, it's just incredible to watch."

No matter how many thrills the U.S. team provides before the World Cup concludes, soccer still has a wide gap to close before it can challenge the "Big Four" team sports -- football, baseball, basketball and hockey -- in terms of popularity. But remember, all the youth soccer players you see on fields throughout the country each weekend during the fall and spring are the next generation of sports fans in the U.S.

"You watch the MLS and it's a good level of play, but the World Cup is such a different game, it's the best level of soccer," said Greater Lowell Tech boys soccer coach Joe Kane. "Obviously, the athletes are the best soccer players in the world. The people who like soccer appreciate their skills, and the people who are impartial watch and see just how great a game soccer is.

"This has been one of the best World Cups I remember watching with all the scoring, late goals and everything else. The games are played at a time when everyone in the U.S. can watch and that definitely helps. Anytime the U.S. does well in any sport, the country rallies around it."

Lowell High boys soccer coach Bill Bettencourt was born in Portugal and came to the United States as a teenager. In Portugal, soccer wasn't merely the game of choice it was the only game available to young athletes.

"When I was in Portugal all we had was soccer, we really didn't have any other sports over there," said Bettencourt. "We played soccer all the time. We didn't have basketball, baseball, football, hockey or anything else. As a parent you want your son or daughter to play all sports. Let them choose. And you have so many sports to choose from here.

"This performance by the U.S. will be very good for soccer in this country. The more games the U.S. wins, the more the sport will grow. I believe the U.S. can beat Belgium. I watched the U.S. play and I watched Belgium play and they match-up well."

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